


Now There Are Two Of Them

by ByteMe (something_generic)



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Accidental Child Acquisition, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Child Luke Skywalker, Fix-It, Force Ghost Obi-Wan Kenobi, Force Ghost Qui-Gon Jinn, Gen, He'll get one, Human Disaster Anakin Skywalker, Hurt/Comfort, Obi-Wan Kenobi Needs a Hug, Platonic Cuddling, Tatooine Slave Culture, That's Not How The Force Works, Time Travel, anyway its all in the first chapter so if you hate it you can just never read it again, because I love that shit, but also alive obi wan, but its sort of temporary character death?, found family fluff, fuck i don't know, i love that shit too, i'll clean these up as i go, luke is a sunshine child, my favourite tag, or many, theres technically major character death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-17
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:42:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26516164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/something_generic/pseuds/ByteMe
Summary: This is exactly the sort of thing that would happen to them, and exactly the sort of thing they wished happened to someone else. Now, Anakin and Obi-Wan are not only at war, but they have a tiny, force-sensitive Skywalker on their hands.What could possibly go wrong?-Basically i send kid Luke back in time to deal with some emotionally constipated idiots, and fix the galaxy in the process.
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker & Luke Skywalker, Luke Skywalker & Waxer & Boil, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Luke Skywalker
Comments: 80
Kudos: 824





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm an absolute sucker for time travel fics, so of course I had to write one. This is honestly going to be super self indulgent, but that doesn't mean a plotless and fluffy mess because i need more angst than that. I only have a vague idea of where this is going, but i have plenty of people to bounce ideas off of, and if you guys have any ideas, feel free to share... 
> 
> anyway, tw for gore in this chapter, as well as the major character death. Honestly, if you don't like that, I'd just skip this one... 
> 
> Well, I hope you enjoy!

It couldn’t be real, it _couldn’t_ , Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen were always there, and even when he couldn’t see them, he could _feel_ them. But now, the spaces where their lights used to be in his head were empty and gone, and their bodies were strewn out on the floor. He couldn’t stop looking at them, the way their limbs were twisted and bent in too many places, skin full of those horrible blistering burns made by the red, glowing blades of the dark people, the ones Old Ben was fighting now. 

They’d come to take him away, and Luke thought maybe that would have been better. That maybe Aunt Beru wouldn’t be _gone_ and Uncle Owen wouldn’t be _gone_ , wouldn’t be lying still with empty eyes, full of nothing because they’re gone, gone, _gone_. Ben was going to be gone soon too, Luke could see it in his head, and then the dark people would take him anyway and _oh stars please he doesn’t want to go, he doesn’t want Ben to be gone too, please someone help me Help Me HELP ME–_

The world lurches.  
The air disappears and the room fills with white, the Force collapsing and stretching around the homestead. It pulses and roars and tears at the minds of the beings inside.  
The temperature plummets, and then it burns.  
Gravity warps, the ground is no longer the ground, the sky not the sky, the walls of the homestead, the dancing sands of the wastes, the fiery heat of the twin suns-  
all become one.  
There is no light,  
no dark,  
no living, breathing beings  
all are one and  
there  
is  
only 

the

Force

.

-

Reality slams back into place.

-

It was abundantly clear to Ben that they were no longer on Tatooine. 

It’s not the temperature drop, nor the moisture in the air that gave it away first, but rather the astonishing lack of sand under his hands as he lay, dazed, in a forest that had not been there a moment ago. 

There were no forests on Tatooine either.

Ben had definitely _been_ on Tatooine – he’d finally convinced Owen Lars to let him give Luke some rudimentary Force training after an outburst where the child had gotten overexcited and left dents in two of the vaporators, as well as decimating most of Beru’s kitchen. Ben had felt the echoes of it all the way out in the wastes. Apparently, the Inquisitors had felt it too, because he’d only been teaching Luke for perhaps a week before two of them touched down outside the homestead and demanded that Owen and Beru hand over the boy. The pair refused, and the Inquisitors cut them down where they stood. Luke’s horror had been deafening in the Force, almost drowning out the disappearance of his Aunt and Uncle’s Force signatures. Ben hadn’t been far away, and that was probably the only reason Luke hadn’t already been stolen away.

Wait.

_Luke._

Almost frantically, he cast his mind out, wilting with relief when he brushed up against the young boy’s blinding presence. Luke was terrified but he was alive and mostly unhurt, and the comfort Ben took in that was outstanding. As he stumbled to his feet, he gently wrapped his own mind around Luke’s, offering some semblance of safety which the boy latched onto greedily. 

“Ben?” Luke whispered, from somewhere to his right, and Ben turned towards him and walked unsteadily over. He knelt down slowly in front of the child, his joints complaining loudly, and carefully brushed away some of the boy’s tears.

“I’m here, Luke,” he said softly, his smile strained. “You’re going to be alright.”

The child smiled shakily back at him, still crying. “Ben,” he said, and then his eyes widened in fear again. “Ben, look out!” 

It’s pure instinct that allows him to block the lightsabre strike to his back. Hissing through her mask like a fyrnock, was the Third Sister, swinging out viciously with her ‘sabre. She was furious. Ben blocked a second strike to his head, pushing her back with a concentrated Force blast. He moved in to close the distance as quickly as possible, although not as quickly as he would have liked, to keep her away from Luke. He aimed a sharp jab at her abdomen, which she blocked swiftly.

He was doing his best to release to pain of his joints and ribs (probably cracked, but at the very least bruised, from when he was thrown back by that anomaly earlier) into the Force, while still shielding Luke’s mind as best he could. He exchanged blows with the Third Sister a few more times, landing a small gash across her upper arm. It did little except fuel her rage. 

He was holding his own, but barely. It was a good thing the Fifth Brother was still lying prone on the edge of the clearing – with any luck the man was dead. He wouldn’t stand a chance if he had to fight them together again. Ben hadn’t been in a lightsabre duel in a long time, and his attention was split. He was starting to tire. 

He stumbled as he leapt over a swipe aimed at his knees, his guard dropping for just a second, and that was all the Third Sister needed. Pain exploded through his stomach as she stabbed clean through his gut. He dropped to the ground. He was distantly aware that this was almost exactly the way Qui-Gon died.

The Third Sister turned away from him with a sneer and stalked towards Luke. No. He would not let her have him, she _would not have him_. Ben reached out in the Force and grabbed hold of her, using the last of strength to stop her in her tracks. He lifted the Third Sister up into the air, her legs flailing, arms scrabbling at nothing, and he squeezed. She screamed. The sickening sound of breaking bones filled the air, her armour collapsed into her body, and, finally, her helmet cracked and buried into her skull and the screams stopped.

Ben heard Luke choke in horror, and suddenly there was a small body kneeling next to his, hands flitting over his torso.

“Ben,” Luke’s eyes were wide, and there were spatters of the Third Sister’s blood on his face and clothes. “Ben no, no, no, please Ben, don’t go–”

Ben reached up a hand and gently stroked the boy’s hair, shushing him gently. “It’s okay Luke, you’ll see me again, I promise,” and Ben really hoped that wasn’t a lie, was sure he and Qui-Gon would figure it out eventually, “I’m not leaving, okay Luke? I’ll always be with you, I won’t leave.”

Luke was shaking and sobbing, still repeating “No, no, no-” over and over, and Ben belatedly remembered that his presence was still entwined with Luke’s, that the boy would be able to feel it degrading and falling away. Luke’s mind was scrambling to hold onto Ben’s, but it slipped out of his grasp like sand. This was why he hadn’t wanted to form a training bond with Luke, didn’t want him to have the splintered shards of it digging into his mind when Ben was eventually killed, but when Luke had started to form one automatically, he couldn’t bring himself to shut it down. He was starting to regret that now, as Luke’s panic filled the air between them. 

He continued to stroke Luke’s head for as long as he could, even as his lungs failed and his vision started to fade. 

-

Luke was frozen in horror. 

He’d known that Ben was going to end up gone, but it was so, so much worse in real life than in his head. He’d felt him fall to pieces, and now he felt the jagged edges of the space where Ben used to be scratching at his mind. It was almost as bad as Ben’s empty, staring eyes –just like Aunt Beru, just like Uncle Owen– and the horrible burn in Ben’s stomach that bubbled and smelled and– 

He knew you were meant to close people’s eyes when they died. Aunt Beru said it was so their spirit wouldn’t get burned away by the suns, so they were safe and hidden from Depur, but Luke couldn’t bring himself to touch.

There was only one sun here anyway. And it wasn’t hot enough to burn anything. 

Suddenly, someone bright and warm brushed against him in that place that Ben used to call the Force and Luke almost jumped out of his skin. He looked around frantically, and tried to bury the light in him like how Ben showed him. He backed away from Ben’s body (because it wasn’t Ben anymore, it couldn’t be-) and dashed towards one of the green, green, green plants at the edge of the clearing, to hide. He knew even nice people could be cruel, and Uncle Owen always taught him to be careful who you trust, but maybe… 

Maybe these people would help him?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Three guesses as to who they new people are, and the first two don't count.
> 
> I'm sorry if there's any typos n shit, I'm trying okay. I also kinda really hate formatting, so I can't tell if this is bad or not... In terms of an update schedule, I don't have one (I know, I know), but I've already started chapter 2 so that should be up within a week.
> 
> Well, I hope you enjoyed, and may the Force be with you!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two Jedi generals stumble across some dead bodies and a child.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hah look at that finished within two days how good am i  
> its almost like i know what i'm doing
> 
> this chapter was beta'd by elusive_ellipsis, who is an absolute blessing
> 
> tw for gore again bc corpses

They’d been halfway through the campaign on Oshira, just starting clean-up after a routine battle, when the disturbance hit. Anakin and Obi-Wan could barely keep from collapsing as the Force fell out from under them, before rushing back in with screams of panic and fear and _HELP ME_. Ahsoka, up in orbit on the Resolute, did collapse, her shields not yet strong enough to withstand the onslaught. Rex had been scared out of his mind, and that worry did not ease when she started hyperventilating and had to be sedated. Anakin couldn’t blame him. He’d been freaking out too.

Instead of being allowed to check up on his padawan, he and Obi-Wan had left the camp under the care of Commander Cody and were slogging through the dense forest that covered the planet. Obi-Wan assured him it was only a short walk to the origin of the disturbance, and reminded him it was their duty to do everything they could to help the clearly terrified Force-sensitive who was spilling their emotions into the Force. Anakin knew all this, he just thought it was also his duty to take care of his _fourteen-year-old padawan._

Anakin wasn’t angry, he _wasn’t_ , he just didn’t understand why both of them had to walk all the way out into the woods to investigate something that Obi-Wan could probably handle on his own. That would have been perfectly reasonable.

But they’d received intelligence a day or so ago suggesting Ventress was on planet, and if that were the case then she’d be headed to the disturbance as well, and Obi-Wan would need back up. So, Anakin limited his complaints to some grumbles and scowls and followed his former master into the forest.

They were getting closer. The scared presence was getting more and more overwhelming, although the sheer panic had started to creep out to make room for horror and grief.

“Anakin,” Obi-Wan called out from just in front of him. “I believe we might actually be approaching two Force-sensitives, not one.” Anakin cocked his head and considered the approaching signature. Once it was pointed out, Anakin couldn’t see how he’d missed it – one presence was wrapped like a blanket around the other, which was the source of the fear and clinging on frantically to the first. And then he realised – the first presence was slowly but surely draining away into the Force.

“Huh,” said Anakin. “You’re right, Master. But… I don’t think there will be two when we arrive. One of them is dying.”

“Well, we’d better hurry up then.”

-

They were too late.

Roughly ten minutes before they reached the clearing, the Force had been swamped with a tidal wave of fear and grief that almost totally hid the disappearance of the dying light. Anakin had reached out on pure instinct to offer some form of comfort, or even just a heads up that they were on their way, but the presence had receded quicker than a spooked lothcat behind some unpractised but impressive shielding. Whoever they were, they didn’t seem to go anywhere, but they were clearly skittish.

Obi-Wan stepped cautiously into the clearing first, Anakin only a step behind, and stopped in shock. Fresh ‘sabre burns littered the ground, surrounding three very dead bodies. There was no sign of the owner of the bright presence, although the force was adamant that they were still here. Obi-Wan prodded him through their bond, warning him to be on guard, and then immediately wandered off into the open to inspect the closest body. Anakin rolled his eyes. The man was infuriating.

Anakin stalked away towards the other two bodies, grimacing involuntarily at the first one. They were practically unrecognisable, body twisted and deformed. The black armour encasing their body was split open and warped into their flesh, and there was a sickening dent on one side of their ribs. Anakin could barely even look at the head – one glance at the bloodied, caved-in face had been enough to make him wish he’d never looked at all. He moved on swiftly, giving the body and surrounding pool of drying blood a wide berth. At least the next body appeared to be intact.

They were dressed in Jedi-like robes, clearly killed by the brutal lightsabre burn piercing their body just below the ribs, but it wasn’t the wounds that caused his to stop dead in his tracks.

It was the man’s _face._

“Master?”

Across the clearing, Obi-Wan hummed in acknowledgement, where he was still inspecting the first body. When Anakin didn’t continue, he looked up questioningly, and started to make his way over. “Anakin, what is it?”

But Anakin didn’t say a word. He couldn’t. Because what would he say? Because even with a few more wrinkles and grey hair, and years of sorrow etched into his features, his eyes blank and blind, and that awful, blistering hole in his chest, Anakin would know this man anywhere. There was no escaping it. He couldn’t breathe.

Because this–

–this was Obi-Wan Kenobi.

-

Luke was crouched inside a large bush, peering out into the clearing from between the leaves, and trying his best not to get distracted. He’d just never seen so much green in his whole life, and now it was close enough to touch he couldn’t help himself – the leaves were all soft and waxy and had these odd little pink lines running down the back and there were these little clusters of green berry-like things that looked like they might be fruit but tasted worse than krayt eyes so they probably weren’t and somehow the _ground_ was _damp–_

He’d almost missed it when the two men arrived.

The two men were now standing in front of Ben’s body, looking slightly ill and feeling all swirly in his head. They were both dressed in some strange kind of armour, and both had those fancy cylinders that made the glowing blades that Ben and the dark people had. The tall one had a scar over his eye. The other looked a lot like Ben.

Like _a lot_ , a lot. Luke didn’t even know that two people could look that the same. Aunt Beru had told him that people from the same family could look really similar, and actually, now that he thinks about it, Dakk from the linen stand had an older brother whose face was just like hers. Maybe this man was Ben’s brother? It would make sense that he was here now Ben had died, and Ben did say that everything was going to be okay, so maybe he had meant that his brother would come and help Luke? He certainly hoped so. Luke was still shaking, and he didn’t know where he was or what to do now, but Ben’s Brother looked nice, and even though he was all swirly, he still felt reassuring and steady in the Force.

Not like the Tall Man. The Tall Man hurt Luke’s eyes when he looked at him, so blindingly bright in his head, brighter than both Ben and Ben’s Brother. The light twisted and howled like a sandstorm, but Luke wasn’t afraid. He’d been named after the sandstorm, and knew it would only hurt him if he was stupid. All sandstorms blew out eventually, and they left the world new in their wake. Luke knew that sandstorms were dangerous, but they were good.

The Tall Man knelt next to Ben’s body and brushed a hand over Ben’s face, feeling just as sad as Luke was. Luke decided that was probably a good thing, probably meant that the Tall Man was a friend of Ben’s, and would probably help him too. And if he was wrong, well, Luke was good at running, and at hiding. He’d figure something out.

Quietly, he crawled out from under his bush and snuck over to stand at Ben’s Brother’s side, trying hard not to look at Ben lying on the ground. His eyes had been closed, so Luke decided he was right in thinking that the Tall Man was good. Neither of them had noticed him. Luke could move way more sneakily on this ground than on sand.

-

“You’re all shiny in my head, like Ben was.”  
Obi-Wan jumped out of his skin at the sudden appearance of the small child at his side. From his other side came a thump and a startled yelp as Anakin fell over in shock. The child peered over at him curiously, and then looked up towards Obi-Wan again. Obi-Wan blinked.

This must be the Force-sensitive they were looking for.

The boy was young, perhaps eight or nine, with bright blue eyes and shaggy blonde hair. There were dried tear tracks on his face. He was also covered head to toe in mud, with splatters of blood on his face and in his hair, some staining his clothes. It was likely from the mangled corpse in the centre of the clearing, although Obi-Wan couldn’t tell if it was the boy who had done that or this mysterious ‘Ben’ who shared his face.

“Hello there,” he said, smiling, as he crouched down to be level with the child. “And who might you be, little one?”

The boy wrinkled his nose at him. “You talk funny,” he said, and Obi-Wan pointedly ignored Anakin choking with laughter behind him. “My name’s Luke Skywalker,” he chirped, and then he added, with a slightly sickening amount of pride, “and I’m free.”

Behind him, he could practically feel Anakin’s grin. “You’re from Tatooine?” he asked, and Luke nodded eagerly. “Me too. I’m Anakin Skywalker. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Luke.”

Luke’s jaw dropped. And then his eyes lit up and somehow, _somehow_ , he smiled even wider. “You won the Boonta Eve Classic! That’s amazing! I tried to convince Uncle Owen to teach me to fly but he said I wasn’t old enough. So Biggs showed me on his speeder, and I know how to hotwire ours, so now we can go racing in Beggar’s Canyon when my aunt and uncle are out and it’s my favourite thing in the whole galaxy!” Luke gushed, and Anakin chuckled.

Obi-Wan tuned out what Anakin’s reply was, and set about taking DNA samples and holos of the corpses. He knew it was futile to try and stop Anakin from encouraging Luke, and it likely wouldn’t matter, in the end.

The boy was clearly a Skywalker.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Luke is my favourite character to write
> 
> My first draft of this chapter was way more angsty but i didn't like how it was flowing so i rewrote it and got this. I have no regrets.
> 
> I'm going to once again suggest an update within the week, so i'll see you then!  
> May the Force be with you!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look, i know this is massively late and i'm sorry, but in my defense this chapter turned out wayyy longer than i expected. like way longer.
> 
> This was once again beta'd by the wonderful elusive_ellipsis, who i love.
> 
> well i hope you enjoy!

This was the sort of shit that only happened when General Skywalker was around. Sure, his general got into all sorts of trouble perfectly easily all by himself, but combined with Skywalker’s inability to go anywhere without getting stabbed or blowing something up, they had yet to have a campaign where something like this _didn’t_ happen.

So, Cody had been expecting a kidnapping, or maybe a pack of rabid animals. But no, somehow General Skywalker had been entrusted with a child, and General Kenobi had managed the rather impressive feat of finding _his own dead body._

Of all the things.

Next time Rex would simply have to keep General Skywalker on ship, or deal with him himself. Cody should not have to put up with this when he had his own general to handle.

“Commander,” Kenobi greeted, as if the dead body of his twin floating behind him was nothing out of the ordinary. “I take it everything ran smoothly in our absence?”

“Yessir, but our scouts are reporting movement on the seppies’ front. We need you both in the briefing tent as soon as possible,” he paused, cutting a glance towards the blood-stained child eyeing him warily from where he was tucked against General Skywalker’s legs, and decided it was best not to comment. “Although you may wish to visit medical first. Shall I secure a stasis pod for the body?”

“Thank you, Cody. Anakin, why don’t you take Luke for a check-up? I’ll join you once we’ve dealt with the body and I’ve filled in the Commander as best I can,” he said and Skywalker nodded, before he headed off, coaxing the kid along behind him. Cody thought this must be the first time he’d ever seen General Skywalker follow orders without arguing first.

He fell into step next to his own general, who smiled at him. “I imagine you have quite a few questions,” he continued, and Cody glared from beneath his helmet.

“Respectfully, sir, how have you managed this?” He pointed at the body still floating alongside his Jedi. “That is _you._ What happened out there?”

“In my defence, it wasn’t actually anything _we_ did this time. He was already there when we arrived. Anakin has been trying to get the story out of Luke, but that child is surprisingly good at dodging questions.”

Cody glared again. General Kenobi sighed. “We don’t know very much, Cody. The child is called Luke Skywalker, and is remarkably Force-sensitive. According to him, this man was named Ben. We know nothing about him except that Luke liked him and he is now dead. There were two more bodies that we know even less about.”

“The kid’s a Skywalker?” Cody said, already making preparations in his head for when the boy started to cause mayhem, no matter how quiet he’d been earlier.

His general hummed. “And a troublemaker too, I expect. Let’s hurry this up – we don’t want to leave them unattended for long. Who knows what might happen?”

-

Anakin was starting to feel out of his depth.

There was a world of difference between the excited child who had been chattering away all through the walk back, and the uncertain and defensive boy Luke had become when they got in sight of the camp. Anakin didn’t have a clue how to fix it.

They were seated on one of the beds in the thankfully quiet med tent, waiting for Luke’s examination. Luke was pressed against Anakin’s side, looking pensive, as one of the 212th’s medics finally made his way over. He was one of the new ones, still mostly shiny apart from a few gold stripes on his helmet and around the red cross on his pauldron. He nods at Anakin.

“General Skywalker,” he says, before turning all of his attention to Luke, smiling. “Hey there, cadet. My name’s Helix, and I’m just going to run some basic tests today, to make sure you’re nice and healthy and up to date with your vaccinations. Do you have any injuries I need to know about?”

“I’m okay,” Luke replied, which was more than Anakin had expected, honestly. The kid peered at the medic in an all too assessing way, before looking oddly relieved. “You’re definitely not stormtroopers. I thought you were at first. But you’re all way nicer than any stormtrooper, and you don’t dress the same.”

What?

Helix looked as confused as Anakin felt, but in that pragmatic way of all medics, he got over it very quickly. “No, we’re not. I’m glad you feel okay, but I want to give you a scan anyway. Is that alright?” At Luke’s nod, Helix pulled a small scan device off his belt and moved it through the air in front of the kid’s face, chest, and legs. It beeped twice, flashing green, and Helix ran a critical eye over the displayed results. “Alright, cadet, looks like you’ve got no injuries outside of a few scrapes and bruises. However, you are showing signs of mild dehydration and malnutrition,” he said before turning briefly to Anakin, “He’s been getting enough food, but not the right sorts. I’ll set you up with a diet plan for him.”

“He’s from Tatooine. It’s not exactly known for its culinary diversity,” Anakin said, before grinning down at Luke. “You’ve never been offworld before, have you? Just wait ‘til you see your first rainstorm.”

Luke’s eyes went wide. “Like a sandstorm? But… How can the sky have that much water? How does it stay up?”

“It doesn’t. There’s just so much of it that the water keeps falling out of the clouds for hours.” He could remember the first time he’d seen rain, and how long it had taken him to wrap his mind around it. He decided to leave out any explanations involving atmospheric pressure and temperature until after Luke had actually experienced rain in real life.

“Woah.” The awe on the kid’s face was honestly adorable, and Anakin made a mental note to have a holo-recorder at the ready for as long as Luke stayed with them. “Wait, is that why there’s so much green here? Because of the rainstorms?”

“I mean… Essentially yeah, although there’s a bit more to it than that. You’d have to ask Obi-Wan though, he knows more about plants than I do,” he said.

Helix took this opportunity to butt into their conversation. “You can go find General Kenobi in a bit. First, I need to take a blood sample,” he said, holding out a small hypo-spray with a port to attach it to his medical scanner. “You ever had one of these before, cadet?”

“No. But I’ve seen Aunt Beru do them,” Luke said, curiously. “Her analyser’s a lot less shiny though.”

“Is your Aunt a medic?”

Luke shook his head, and the defensive attitude from before returned. “She just helps family friends.”

And– _Oh._ It may have been years since he’d been on Tatooine, but that was a turn of phrase he recognised. And with a name like Beru? Luke’s aunt was a Singer. Anakin’s respect for Luke’s family increased tenfold – the work of a Singer was as important as it was dangerous.

Helix frowned, but didn’t ask any further questions. Instead, he coaxed Luke into giving him his arm, and wiped the skin on his wrist with an antibacterial. “The planet I’m from gets rainstorms almost every day,” Helix told Luke, in an almost conspiratorial way. “And the whole planet is completely covered in oceans that are deep enough to submerge two nose-up star destroyers end-to-end. All the cities are built on stilts to keep them out of the water.”

Luke giggled and shook his head, relaxing once more, which Anakin supposed had been Helix’s aim. The medic quickly injected the hypo and drew a small vial of blood while Luke was distracted. “That’s a lie. There isn’t that much water in the whole galaxy! There’s no way you could fill a whole planet!”

“It’s not a lie!” Helix retorted indignantly. “General, back me up!”

“What’s Anakin backing you up on? Should I be worried?”

Obi-Wan’s voice carried across the tent from where he and Commander Cody had ducked inside. Anakin’s loud protests against his Master’s frankly offensive lack of faith drowned out Helix’s sharp salute, but not Luke’s chirpy greeting of “Mister Obi-Wan!”

“Hello Luke. Since you’re clearly the only sensible one here, tell me. Who’s lying about what?” Obi-Wan said, smiling down at him. Luke grinned in return.

“Helix said that his planet’s got water all over that’s so deep you could hide star destroyers in it, but I know he has to be lying because you can’t get that much water anywhere.”

Anakin could feel Obi-Wan’s amusement drifting in the Force between them. “Ah, I’m afraid I have to agree with Helix on this one, Luke. You see, I’ve been to Kamino and I can confirm there certainly is that much water there, if not more.”

Luke gaped at him, before narrowing his eyes suspiciously and glancing between the adults. Anakin chuckled and ruffled the kid’s hair, which caused Luke’s glower to centre on him. He held his hands up in mock surrender.

It was Helix who came to his rescue. “You’re missing two of the standard vaccines, cadet. One I can give you now, the other will have to wait until we’re shipboard again. That is, if you’re coming with us.”

Luke cut an unsure glance to him and Obi-Wan, and something in Anakin resonated with the nervous look on his face. He remembered this part of leaving Tatooine too. “Yeah, you’re stuck with us for the time being Luke, don’t worry,” he reassured him, pulling him into a sideways hug. The relief and happiness that slipped past Luke’s (worryingly strong) shielding eased Anakin’s mind.

Cody cleared his throat. “I wish it could wait sirs, but we need to start preparing for another wave of clankers. We really can’t put it off any longer.”

“You’re right, of course, Cody,” Obi-Wan sighed. “Luke, Helix, will you two be okay if we leave while you finish up? Once you’re done, I’d suggest finding Waxer or Boil, I’m sure they’d be delighted to keep an eye on Luke until we’ve dealt with the droids.”

Helix responded with a quick “Yessir,” and Luke nodded. Both Anakin and Obi-Wan tactfully ignored the kid’s unpractised probing at their shields, allowing subtle reassurances to slip through. Luke visibly relaxed, and was promptly distracted by the medic’s promise of food. The three of them ducked out of the med tent and back into their responsibilities.

-

So maybe Cody could understand why Skywalker was so enamoured with Luke. Sue him. The kid was adorable. He was sure none of his brothers had ever been that cute. But then again, Cody knew his brothers were utter terrors, so they probably couldn’t compare.

Speaking of utter terrors, Cody had come to the decision that whoever put General Skywalker in charge of something was clearly incompetent, possibly even completely insane, and should be removed from office immediately. He had no idea how the 501st had such high success rates. There wasn’t a sensible braincell between them. Cody had grown up with Rex – he knew exactly how stupid he could be, and the rest of the battalion took after him, or their absolute _di’kut_ of a general.

Case in point, Skywalker attempting to convince General Kenobi that _crashing a cruiser into the droid army_ was a good idea for the third time in as many minutes _._ The reporting scout, Switch, was glancing between the pair, looking ready to bolt. Cody didn’t blame him.

“I’m not saying _destroy_ the ship, I’m just saying that if we come in for a landing fast enough, they won’t have time to evacuate! We could completely decimate their forces!”

“Anakin, you can’t land cruisers that fast without causing significant damage to the structural supports – and we need those ships to get home! And you seem to have forgotten that we can’t take the cruisers out of orbit without leaving us vulnerable to aerial attack!”

“Yeah, but we don’t have to land both of them, just one would do–”

“I said _no_ , Anakin–”

Cody rolled his eyes hard enough to give Wolffe a run for his credits, and intervened before the generals could traumatise poor Switch any more than they already had. “Sirs, this argument is pointless. There is simply not enough space to land an entire cruiser in that valley, regardless of its effectiveness as a tactic. The only advantage we have currently is that the seppies don’t currently know where we are, while we know exactly where they’re based. If we’re smart about this, then it won’t matter how outnumbered we are.”

“Thank you, Cody,” said Obi-Wan. “If we split the men into three or four smaller groups, we can strike from multiple directions in the places where their defences are weakest. We then retreat before they have time to muster much retaliation, and launch another attack elsewhere. It will keep their forces split and will weaken their overall defences enough that it will be easy to break through even with their superior numbers.”

“The only wildcard is Ventress. If we’re lucky, she’ll still be out investigating the disturbance when we attack, but nothing ever goes that well for us. We need to keep her occupied until me and Obi-Wan can get to her,” Skywalker put in, which even Cody had to admit was a good point. “We know roughly which way she’ll be headed as she comes back, so we could lay an ambush? No, maybe just a series of bombs. That way we’ll still be able to slow her down, but without losing so many men.”

That was… Surprisingly smart. So, Skywalker did have some brains after all. No way. Cody looked for General Kenobi’s nod, before responding. “I’ll deploy Captain Gregor and a few men from Foxtrot now then. The sooner we plant them, the less chance there is of us missing her, or her showing up while the men are still there.”

“Excellent. Anakin and I will start preparing the troops to move out.”

-

“Waxer! Boil!”

Waxer froze in his seat, mentally cataloguing every injury he’d had in the past month to try and figure out why in Sith’s hell he was getting yelled at by a medic. A quick glance at Boil told him his _vod_ was equally confused, and clearly running through a similar list in his head. Boil’s eyes widened, and he grimaced. That probably wasn’t a good sign…

Boil was already attempting an explanation as he and Waxer braced themselves to turn. “Okay, in my defence I really didn’t think it was bad enough to need medical treatment– ”

Only they did not come face to face with an enraged medic demanding they get to the med tent immediately. Instead, Helix had a perplexed look on his face, aimed at Boil, and a small blond youngling holding his hand. The medic frowned. “What are you talking about, I was just– Hang on, Boil, you’ve been injured? When was this? I think I’ll be the judge of how bad it is, thank you very much.”

“Wait, no, don’t be mad! It was just the only thing I could think of that you might be yelling at me for!” Boil protested, and Waxer decided it was in his best interest to stay well out of this argument. The youngling looked disproportionately fascinated, grinning as he looked between Boil and Helix. Waxer hoped they were keeping him. “I twisted my ankle a little in a spar yesterday, nothing serious!”

Helix’s eyes narrowed. “Fine. But you will get it seen if it gets worse. Am I clear?” Boil nodded hastily, and Helix huffed. “Anyway, that isn’t what I’m here about. Boys, I’d like you to meet Luke Skywalker. The generals want you to keep an eye on him while we’re planetside. ”

Waxer gaped, and then cut a sly glance at Boil, grinning. His _vod_ scowled back at him, but Waxer knew him well enough to easily see the excitement behind his eyes. He could pretend all he liked, but the man was absolutely besotted with cadets of all kinds. Waxer was the same, but at least he was open about it. This time, Boil wouldn’t have the flimsy excuse of ‘orders’ to balance his protests on and Waxer could hardly wait for him to finally accept that this was his calling.

He turned his grin to the youngling, and waved. The kid beamed and waved back. “Skywalker, huh? Well, it’s nice to meet you, Luke. My name’s Waxer, and this is my brother, Boil. I know he looks grumpy, but he’s nice enough once he stops frowni– Hey!” Waxer cut off as Boil whacked him over the head, laughing as his _vod_ ’s scowl deepened. Luke giggled along with him, and something inside Waxer glowed with joy.

Helix, on the other hand, was not so thrilled, if his truly impressive eye roll was anything to go by. “Yeah, yeah, you’re hilarious. Go get him some food, I'll send you his diet plan. Just try not to get into too much trouble, alright? That goes for you too, Luke.”

“Don’t worry Mister Helix, I’ll be good,” Luke chirped, moving to stand between Waxer and Boil. Waxer couldn’t resist, and ruffled the kid’s hair. He yelped, and batted at Waxer’s hand.

“Yeah, don’t worry Helix, we’ll be good,” Waxer mimicked, with a shit-eating grin. “I’m sure you have more important things to be doing, so why don’t you go off and do those. We’ll take the cadet to the mess and get him fed.”

Helix narrowed his eyes, but acquiesced. With one last goodbye to Luke and a warning glare at the two troopers, the medic left to re-join the safety of the med tent.

-

Waxer honestly had no idea how one small boy could eat this much food so quickly. It wasn’t even _nice_ food! They’d been on the front for a week already, so they’d run out of anything other than ration bars or reconstituted protein mash, and yet the kid wolfed it down like it was the last thing left in the galaxy. If this was what all the people from Tatooine were like, maybe the tales from the 501st about their general eating bugs were more plausible than he thought.

Boil gave Luke a pained look as he swallowed yet another mouthful without chewing. “Kid, _slow down_ , it’s not going anywhere,” he fretted, and Waxer would have laughed at his _vod_ ’s anxious energy if he didn’t have exactly the same feeling as well. Luke glanced up at him sheepishly.

“Sorry! It’s just I haven’t eaten yet today, and I never had food like this back home,” he said with a small smile, before turning back to his food and continuing to guzzle it. Waxer could see he was at least trying to slow down, even if he wasn’t that successful.

“Huh. Well, if you think rations are impressive, we’ll have to take you out berry picking once we’re done here,” Waxer grinned. “This planet has wild ossberries, and they’re utterly _divine_.”

Boil snorted. “How do you even know what divine means?” he said, and Waxer kicked him under the table, to Luke’s delighted giggles.

“Shut up Boil, General Kenobi used it when we were on Vandor-3. Just ‘cause I’m not an uneducated _or’dinii_ like you are,” he sniffed, and stuck his nose in the air.

“What was that word? Or dee-nee?” Luke asked, and Boil’s disappointed face was not what Waxer wanted to be dealing with right now. It wasn’t even a swear word! It was hardly that bad! “What’s it mean?”

“It’s Mando’a. Almost all the _Vode_ – that’s Mando’a too – know at least a few words,” his _vod_ answered for him. “It’s the language of Mandalorians. _Vode_ means ‘brothers’, and it’s what us clones use to talk about each other. The word Waxer used is ‘ _or’dinii’,_ which means ‘fool’. Feel free to call him that.”

Luke giggled again, looking fascinated. “It’s way prettier than Huttese,” he said, which was truly a horrific understatement. Mando’a was, in his opinion, a beautiful language. Sure, it could sound abrasive at times, but it was nothing next to Huttese. That language was practically designed to be insulting. Admittedly though, the only times he’d ever heard Huttese were when he was getting insulted…

Waxer still blamed the language. And the 501st.

“How’d you even end up here anyway, kid?” Waxer asked, curiously. “Oshiro’s a pretty long way from Tatooine.”

Luke’s cheerful demeanour dimmed suddenly, and Waxer winced. “I… I don’t really know. Everything was normal, just like it was supposed to be, and then– Then the dark people landed and– And Ben had only just left so he was back quick to help but _he wasn’t quick enough_ , and– ” Luke paused, sucking in a deep breath and looking like he was about to cry. Boil shifted and tucked the boy into his side, scowling furiously at Waxer over his head. Luke took another deep breath. “I dunno what happened after that, everything kind of fell away and disappeared – but not really? And then we were here, and Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen are _Gone_ , and Ben’s Gone now too, even though he _promised_ me he wouldn’t leave and– ” he turned and buried his head into Boil’s armour, shoulders shaking as he cried.

Waxer’s heart broke for the kid. He might not have known who these ‘dark people’ were, but it didn’t take a genius to figure out what they must have done to his aunt and uncle, and this Ben. He knew the pain of losing family, and he was a full-grown soldier, so Force only knew how tough this was for Luke. He moved so he was pressed against the other side of the kid and tucked in close, so Luke was curled between them. Anything to make him feel even the slightest bit safer.

“I know it’s hard, Luke,” Boil whispered. “It _hurts,_ and there’s no way to fix it or make it go away. But you’re doing _so well_ , Luke, and I _know_ they’d be proud of you. You’re so strong, _vod’ika_ ,” he murmured, and Waxer brought his hand up to stroke the kid’s hair. “It’s okay to be sad.”

They sat like that until Luke’s hitching sobs subsided, and then a little longer. Waxer was glad he felt so comfortable around the two of them, because outside of food and hugs, he had no idea how to deal with children. What he did know though, was that he would do everything in his power to keep Luke safe.

Luke shifted, and peered up at the two. “Can– can we go looking for ossberries now? Actually. They aren’t the little green ones, are they? Because those are yucky.”

Waxer let out a relieved laugh. “No, _vod’ika,_ they aren’t the green ones. Come on, we’ll show you.”

-

There was fruit _everywhere._ He was gaping, he knew, and he could feel Mister Boil and Mister Waxer laughing at him, but Luke didn’t care. There was just _so much of it,_ and it didn’t belong to anybody! “We can just eat these? As many as we like?”

“Sure. Just don’t make yourself sick, alright? Helix would kill us,” Mister Waxer said, and reached out to ruffle Luke’s hair _again,_ and Luke really couldn’t understand why he kept doing that. Maybe because he didn’t have hair of his own? He ducked away from the hand, giggling, and dashed over to one of the bushes. He took a moment to feel the leaves, just like the ones on the other bush he’d hid under. These ones were all waxy too, but only on one side. The other side was fuzzy, and damp. Like maybe the leaves had tiny vaporators in them, to suck the water out of the air.

He grinned, and plucked a bumpy silver berry off one of the clusters hanging in the leaves and popped into his mouth. Oh. _Oh_. He thought he understood _divine_ now, because this was like eating the sky. It was amazing. They were way better than the little green ones from before. He quickly ate another five, and then remembered he had _manners,_ and he should use them. Aunt Beru might be gone, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t be nice like she told him to, and he picked a handful of berries for Mister Waxer and Mister Boil.

“Would you look at that, the cadet is more polite than you are, Waxer,” Mister Boil said, smirking at his brother before turning and smiling at Luke. “Thank you, _vod’ika._ ”

Mister Waxer scowled, but he was still bright and happy in Luke’s head, so he wasn’t worried. The brothers both had their helmets off, which Luke was secretly glad about. He knew they weren’t stormtroopers and that they’d probably be upset if he mistook the brothers for them, but when he saw them out the corner of his eye in full armour, he couldn’t help but compare.

It helped that they felt different than stormtroopers though. Amatakka didn’t have a proper word for the ‘troopers, but the word the slaves used basically meant ‘ _empty-shells’._ Luke didn’t really think they felt empty, only tired and sad all the time. The brothers felt so much nicer in his head, so much more… _alive_. Even when they were sad, like they’d been when Luke was remembering and was overwhelmed by the missing lights in his mind, they still felt bright, and he knew their happiness wasn’t gone for good.

He ate another ossberry, and decided to think about something else. Like, “What’s _vod’ika_? Is that Mando’a too?”

Mister Waxer smiled at him again. Luke liked it when Mister Waxer smiled. “Yeah, it’s Mando’a. It means ‘little brother’. You’re our _vod’ika_ now.”

Woah. He’d never had a brother. He didn’t look very much like Mister Boil and Mister Waxer – wait, if he was their brother, did he still need to call them Mister? – but they didn’t seem to care so it probably didn’t matter. He grinned. “ How would I say big brother?”

“That’s _ori’vod_ ,” said Boil. Who reached out and ruffled his hair. _Again._ Seriously, why did they like his hair so much? Instead of ducking away though, he tackled Boil into a hug and squeezed. And then, so he wouldn’t feel left out, turned and did the same for Waxer. They felt so warm in his head and he loved it.

“Thanks, _ori’vod_!” he said, and if anything, their lights blazed even brighter. He stood back and looked up at them both. “Can we collect more ossberries to bring back to camp?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There. I was actually intending to get to the battle in this chapter, but then i had two and a half thousand words of luke being adorable and we didn't get there in time... I promise though, the next chapter will show up fairly soon, i have the battle planned (there's a diagram), and i basically know exactly what i'm doing. I'm not gonna tell you when though, because knowing me, it would be a lie.
> 
> also! because someone asked: a singer is a surgeon for slaves escaping to freedom - i didn't come up with this, its from Fialleril's tatooine slave culture stuff, although i didn't, like, research or anything for this fic so its probably not be massively accurate 
> 
> Well i hope you had fun, and may the Force be with you!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look at this it has plot are you excited  
> once again my beta was elusive_ellipsis, who is an angel 
> 
> i hope you enjoy :)

There was something eerie about these woods.

They were vast, stretching for miles, consisting of almost every native tree species capable of thriving in this climate. The area had been a wasteland thousands of years ago, but was reforested by the old settlers well enough that some of the trees here were as old as Master Yoda. The forest floor was filled with sprawling bushes and spiked roots jutting up from the ground, but there was no sound. Oshiro had no flighted fauna and no native scavengers or grazers, so the forest was beautiful, but empty. 

Obi-Wan wished he could have the same appreciation for the woods that Luke had. Perhaps under different circumstances he would have been able to appreciate them in the same way his Master would have, of their depth and vitality in the Living Force. But right now, he was a General, not a Jedi, and though the trees were good cover all he could focus on was the blocked sightlines and the leaf litter covering the ground making it impossible to move quietly, or in a straight line.

He and his battalion had split from Cody’s half a kilometre back, and were now heading directly for the Separatist base. If all went to plan, Anakin would be approaching along the far ridge and would arrive at the base moments after Obi-Wan, and his commander would arrive from the opposite direction to box the droids in against the cliff. If all went to plan.

So far, they hadn’t come across a single patrol, not even the one that their scouts had reported passing this route every hour for the past two days like clockwork. The forest remained horribly silent and still. Obi-Wan supposed he should be grateful, but he could feel the unease of his troops pushing against his shields and, to be perfectly honest, they were never that lucky. He hated to think it, but…

He had a bad feeling about this.

Something was going to go wrong, the world felt like it was balanced on a knife edge, ready to collapse into a hell that would get his men killed. And yet there were no other options. The mission was already rolling, and to stop it now would put both Cody’s and Anakin’s teams at risk.

He wasn’t about to scare his sergeant either – Sketch had only had the position for a couple of months, and this was their first time out in the field as second in command. It wouldn’t do to cause them ecessary panic. Obi-Wan was probably just over thinking things. He needed to focus if he were to keep his men safe.

Here and now, as Qui-Gon would say.

They were approaching the edge of the forest, and the walls of the separatist base loomed out of the landscape, easily visible through the trees fifty or so metres ahead. A handful of mounted cannons were lined up along the top, unmanned, and to Obi-Wan’s relief the perimeter of sleeping droidekas were exactly where they should be. Unlike the missing B1 patrols. In fact, there wasn’t a single B1 in sight, which was doing nothing for Obi-Wan’s bad feeling.

Really, he should be feeling grateful – surely the lack of enemy droids could only be a good thing? If the Separatists had no patrols or look-outs, it should be easy for Obi-Wan and his men to sneak up and attack before the droids even realise that they’re there. It could only be a good thing.

But as a handful of them snuck out to scatter explosives amongst the dormant destroyers, Obi-Wan couldn’t help but feel like they were walking into a trap. It just didn’t make sense – the blockade around this system had been brutal to break though and disperse, and Ventress herself had been sent to assist the Seppie forces on the ground. So where in Sith’s hells _were_ those forces?

They waited until all the men were back under the cover of the trees, their targets locked on the droidekas that weren’t quite in range of the explosives, and a few on the wall cannons even if they weren’t currently a threat. There was a moment of stillness, a quiet and empty moment before the chaos.

They triggered the bombs, and the world was filled with fire.

The shockwave shook the ground, and Obi-Wan and his troopers burst out of the trees, blaster fire streaking though the air ahead of them to tear apart the droids as they unfurled much too slow to save themselves. One of the wall cannons went down, slower than they usually did, and then another, and then– Then they started firing back. They still weren’t manned, still not a B1 in sight, and Obi-Wan knew this advancement would have to be reported as soon as possible. The cannons powered up, not quite in-sync enough for central programming, and locked targets. Obi-Wan could feel as his men started to die, and that was unacceptable.

He darted forward, ‘sabre flashing as he sliced through one of the few remaining destroyers, and leapt. He pushed of the wall, flipping up towards the closest cannon. It was a simple matter to angle the blade as he descended, so it would sever the barrel and meld the hollow inside shut. Except–

Except when his lightsabre struck the metal, it didn’t cut through. Instead, the blade stuttered before failing completely, his kyber crystal whining in pain as the hilt short-circuited. He rolled into a spectacularly Anakin-style landing, and tested the ‘sabre a few times. Nothing. He grimaced. _Looks like it’s time for plan B._

His men had started to find cover, where they could target the cannons from relative safety, and that threat kept the cannons from targeting Obi-Wan as he stopped still in the middle of a battlefield. He might not be anywhere near as powerful as his former padawan, but he wasn’t useless either, and his men needed him. He centred himself, and reached out.

He wrapped his presence around each of the active cannons, extending his mind as far as he could. The world narrowed down to the sound of his breath and the cold metal in his mental grip. He squeezed. The cannons groaned, shook, and finally crumpled in on themselves. Small explosions ripped though them as the tibanna gas leaked into the damaged powerpacks, and the energy couldn’t escape. Obi-Wan’s hands were shaking. He might have overdone it just a little. He fumbled to activate his commlink and contact Anakin, and his men crept out of their hiding places to look for places to breach the walls.

“Anakin, come in,” he said into his comm, praying the worry and exhaustion did not seep into his voice. “Anakin, please respond.”

“What, Master? We’re just about to start our attack,” his padawan’s voice snapped. Obi-Wan frowned. He hadn’t been that irritable earlier. Had something happened?

“Now, there’s no need for that Anakin. I’m merely giving you a warning – the wall cannons on this particular base are automated, and lightsabre resistant,” he said. “The gate you are approaching has a large number of them, and I want you to be careful. We haven’t seen a single battle droid yet, and I fear this base has a few more nasty surprises in store for us.”

Anakin was quiet for a few moments, before he hummed. “That is odd, Obi-Wan. We haven’t seen any clankers yet either… I’ll be careful though, don’t worry. Wouldn’t want you going grey,” he quipped.

Obi-Wan sighed, and grinned. “I think it’s a little late for that, my most troublesome padawan. I’m certain you alone are responsible for all of my grey– ”

The Force screamed in warning. Blaster bolts hammered into them from behind, and pure instinct has him reaching for his ‘sabre to deflect them. It was only after a bolt grazed, searing hot across his side, that he remembered it wasn’t currently operational. He moved instead into a series of flips, pushing past the pain of the blaster shot and the bone-deep tiredness that comes from overusing the Force, and snaked past the bolts streaking through the air.

The trees they had only just walked out of were once again alight with shots, only this time it was them who were pinned back against the fortified walls. Obi-Wan caught a glimpse of metal through the leaves, and the familiar sound of clanking feet below the rattle of blasters.

It appeared they’d found their missing battle droids.

-

Anakin frowned down at his comm. The Force was buzzing anxiously around his head. A cut-off comm call was never a good thing, and he could feel pain whispering down from Obi-Wan’s end of the bond. He very pointedly did not think about the corpse with his master’s face back at the camp. Being able to feel _anything_ from Obi-Wan from past his fortress of shielding was rare though, so Anakin had every right to be worried.

Even if he was secretly enjoying having something other than cold, endless walls at the end of the bond.

He shook his head, and focused back on the base in front of him, the high walls and the gate flanked by a dozen _lightsabre-proof cannons_. Which was massively worrying, if Anakin was being honest. If the Seppies managed to get that widespread, or, Force forbid, transfer it onto the clankers, one of the Republic's greatest advantages would be lost. 

It also meant he needed a new plan for getting over the walls, since going in ‘sabre swinging was no longer an option. Maybe… “Captain? You got any grenades on you?”

Gregor had his helmet on, so Anakin couldn’t actually see his face, but it wasn’t hard to imagine the gleam in his eyes. “Sure do, General. Got a full set of droid poppers too.”

Anakin grinned at him. “Think if I give you a boost, we’ll be able to take out those cannons?”

“I like how you think, sir,” he said, handing out detonators to the surrounding men. Honestly, if Rex wasn’t so amazing, Anakin would definitely want Gregor as his captain. “Whenever you’re ready.”

“And… now!”

A quick Force push was all it took to have the projectiles slamming into walls around the gate, and the mix of orange fire from the regular grenades and the blue electricity sparking out from the droid poppers was more than enough to lay waste to the cannons, lightsabre-proof or not. _Although_ , Anakin thought as he bounded forward to dispatch of the waking destroyers, _the explosions have blown our element of surprise, so maybe this plan wasn’t as good as it could have been._

Oh well. Nothing wrong with a bit of ‘sabre practice.

Once they’d dealt with the rollies outside though, there was suspiciously little resistance. A touch of slicing – and liberal use of a lightsabre – had them waltzing through the front gates into an empty base. It was all very unsettling. Not that Anakin was going to complain. Sure, the missing tinnies was a bit of a mystery, but with any luck they could be off-planet and headed back to Coruscant in no time.

Captain Gregor and his troops began their sweep through the base, methodically and efficiently securing the area. Empty tanks were blasted to scrap, ammunition was secured, and doors to the buildings were busted open. The only other movement was up along the southern wall, as Obi-Wan’s team grappled over. There did seem to be far more blaster fire happening over that way, so Anakin assumed his master had solved their missing droid problem.

They’d fully cleared this main courtyard, and the men split off into smaller groups to move through the rest of the base. Anakin was with Captain Gregor and three other men – Riptide and Wendy, he believed, and an ARC whose name he hadn’t caught, but had distinctive diamond-shaped markings painted just below his visor. They weren’t the 501st, but Anakin could appreciate their ruthless efficiency as they swept through the base. The inside of the base was unknown territory, so every door was opened, and every data terminal examined. Anakin’s worry that the base had somehow been abandoned was quickly disproved – one of the first places they came across was a control room manned by B1s, and turned out to be the remote operating base for the wall cannons. Suffice to say, they left the room in a much worse state than they found it.

The deeper they got into the base, the darker the corridors got, and the more heavily guarded the doors. Anakin was starting to feel uncomfortable, the Force swirling agitatedly though his mind. He crept slowly to the next corner, and peered round. A ray shield, nestled at the end of the next corridor, and beyond that, a score of SBDs. He relayed the information to the Captain with some quick gestures, who nodded grimly. There was no question about whether or not they would attack. This many droids in such an odd position in the base? It could never be a good thing. Pressing close to the walls and the cover of the shadows, they snuck towards the shield.

Anakin plunged his lightsabre through the shield’s controls, and leapt forward.

Blaster bolts soared, and four droids were down before they’d even registered what they were shooting at. Now they were past the electric red of the ray shield, Anakin could see that the room was more of a cave, the walls lined with mining equipment, and the air thick with dust, clogging up his lungs. Automatically, he brought a hand up to cover his nose and mouth even as he carved his way through the remaining droids. His eyes watered, and he coughed violently. The dust scraped along his airways as he breathed. He coughed again, doubling over, praying to the Force that Gregor and his men had the rest of the situation handled. A bout of dizziness hit him, and he groaned as his knees gave out, trying to breathe through his coughs, trying to filter whatever toxin this was out of his bloodstream using the Force.

His vision swam. One of the troopers knelt in front of him, but Anakin couldn’t hear what he was saying. He felt a wave of concern along the bond with Obi-Wan, and he clung to it in a futile attempt to ground himself.

He passed out.

-

Luke could hear blaster fire in the distance.

He recognised it almost as soon as it started. Blaster fire wasn't exactly uncommon on Tatooine, after all. He wasn't scared of that, not really, because it was far away, _and_ he had his new brothers Waxer and Boil to look out for him. They noticed before he did, like they were waiting for it.

They'd spent ages in the fruit clearing. Luke had eaten enough berries to make him feel sick, and they'd filled Waxer's helmet up all the way to the top with the ones they had collected for later.

Right now, it was balanced between his knees as he crouched next to Waxer in the bushes. Boil was a little further ahead, tucked behind a tree and hidden form the path. Luke couldn’t see him, but he could feel his light. Both of them were tense, coiled tight like scyks ready to spring.

The forest was crawling with droids.

Luke had never seen anything like them – nothing in the Anchorhead junkyards or the Jawas’ sandcrawlers even came close. The tech was old, but none of the plating was rusting, and they moved with an odd sort of smoothness that Luke had never seen even in the newest models on Tatooine. They looked dangerous.

Next to him he could hear Waxer frantically trying to comm Mister Obi-Wan and Mister Cody, but it wouldn’t connect and all he got back was static. Luke was maybe a little bit frightened now.

“Okay _vod’ika,_ here’s what we’re going to do now,” whispered Waxer. “Our orders right now are to keep you safe, and that takes priority even over defending the camp. So, you, me, and Boil are going to _very quietly_ sneak away and leave these tweezers to it. The boys at the camp can handle a few commandos for now, and once we’re out of range of whatever scrambler they’re using, we can warn General Kenobi. You ready?”

Luke nodded solemnly. “Yeah, _ori’vod_.” Waxer smiled, gripped his hand, and led them delicately through the bushes. It was pretty amazing how quietly he could move with all that armour, and how little he disturbed the leaves around them. They quickly caught sight of Boil, his white-and-orange armour sticking out like an ossberry bush in the desert, and Waxer signalled to him with a series of sharp hand gestures. Boil nodded, and carefully lowered himself into the cover of the greenery, creeping towards them as quietly as he could.

Boil didn’t say anything, but he ruffled Luke’s hair once he was close enough. Luke didn’t mind it so much now, not that he’d tell him or Waxer that. They didn’t need any encouragement.

They started to move again, Waxer in front holding Luke’s hand and Boil shielding them from behind. Both his _ori’vod_ had blasters levelled and ready. Luke had Waxer’s helmet hugged tight against his chest with one arm, and he clung tight to Waxer and Boil’s lights in his mind. He didn’t even want to think about the possibility that they could just… slip away.

“Hey! Stop, clone!”

“ _Shit,_ ” Boil hissed. “Go, go, run!” he shouted, turning and rising. Waxer scooped Luke up into his arms, and pelted through the undergrowth. Luke gripped the plates of Waxer’s white armour hard, his heart pounding as loud in his ears as the bark of Boil’s rifle and the answering droid fire behind them. The bots were shouting something, and the metal-on-metal sound of their joints rattles through the woods after them.

They hurtled through the forest, dodging around trees and tearing through bushes. The brothers were more agile than the droids, and Boil had much better aim, but Luke knew they were outnumbered. He knew how dangerous that was.

“Only four more left in pursuit,” Boil called out. “Two on the ground, two in the trees. We take them out, then find somewhere to lay low and– ”

Explosions ripped through the forest.

He hit the ground hard. Everything was filled with dust and smoke, and there were broken bits of tree hurtling through the air. Luke couldn’t hear anything past the high-pitched buzzing in his ears. He couldn’t see Waxer, or Boil, and couldn’t focus enough to find their lights. No, no, _no,_ _he couldn’t find their lights!_ He stumbled to his feet, dizzy, choking back tears. He lurched forward, and the forest spun. There was a white figure, up ahead. He took a step towards them.

The ground shook, and crumbled.

He fell into darkness.

-

_…Obi-Wan?_

_Hello, Master. It’s been a while._

_Obi-Wan. You– You aren’t meant to be here yet. How are you here, Obi-Wan?_

_I died, Qui-Gon. Clearly._

_Padawan, please. What happened?_

_It’s the will of the force, Master!_

_Now shush, I need to concentrate._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oops that was, what, three cliffhangers? sorry...
> 
> well i hope you had fun, i certainly did, even if anakin was a stubborn bastard.
> 
> May the Force be with you!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy holidays kiddies i hope you enjoy
> 
> again, my beta was elusive_ellipses who puts up with me far more than i deserve

“Luke! _Luke!_ ”

His head hurt. Actually, most of him hurt, and he kind of wished he hadn’t woken up. The ground under him was hard and cold and _damp,_ and he shivered. He knew he shouldn’t take the water for granted, but maybe this planet could be just a little bit drier?

“ _Vod’ika!_ ”

That was Waxer. He sounded scared, and Luke automatically reached out for his light to try and comfort it like Ben used to do for him, but he couldn’t quite figure out how. He struggled to sit up. “ _Ori’vod_?” he called, and his voice echoed. He was underground, he realised, and from the look of the rubble piled up in front of him, he was lucky not to have been buried alive. A tunnel extended in two directions, stretching out further than he could see. There was only a small opening for light to get through, in the ceiling, but it was too high up to reach and too narrow for him to get through.

“Oh, thank the Force, Luke! Where are you? Are you hurt?” Waxer cried, and Luke could feel as the relief bloomed through his light.

“I’m down here! I’m okay, I think, but I can’t get out,” Luke replied, and Waxer’s face appeared in the small gap above him. Luke waved. Waxer smiled at him and waved back.

“Hi, _vod’ika_. Looks like we’ve got ourselves into a bit of mess, doesn’t it?” he sighed. “Can you walk alright?”

He pushed himself up to his feet, wobbling slightly. His legs ached, and his head throbbed, but he’d broken bones before, and this wasn’t anything like that. He knew he’d be able to run if he needed to. He looked back up at Waxer, and nodded.

“Good,” Waxer sighed, relieved. “There are still a few droids knocking around up here, and when these lot fail to report in, they’ll send another squad, so me and Boil need to find cover. Can you see my helmet? It’s just behind you.”

Luke turned around, squinting into the darkness. There! White and yellow against the black, and still with a few ossberries tucked inside.

He ate one. He figured he’d earned it.

“Perfect. That has a commlink embedded in it, so want you keep tight hold of it, okay? If you press the little button on the side and slip it on, we’ll be able to stay in contact, when we’re in range,” Waxer said. “Can you do that for me?”

“Uh-huh,” Luke fiddled with the helmet and found the switch, before tipping the remaining ossberries out onto the floor so he could slide the helmet on.

Woah. This was wizard, the whole inside was lit up with numbers and words, all sorts of information he didn’t really understand, and the visor had some kind of thermal imaging and night vision component – Luke had never seen a functioning one, though some of the broken-down droids in Anchorhead’s scrap piles had the remains of them. Luke itched to break into the inner wiring and see how it worked, but his _ori’vod_ probably wouldn’t approve.

The speaker in the helmet crackled to life, and a comm indent popped up on the HUD – _CT-16-5344 | Boil_. “Can you hear me, _vod’ika_?”

“Hi Boil!” he chirped, and began collecting the fallen ossberries and stashing them in his pockets. That was one lesson Ben and Uncle Owen had agreed on – never let good food go to waste.

“Hiya kid,” Boil huffed, his voice slightly tinny over comm. “Listen, me and Waxer need to move, and quickly. We can’t get you out without risking another landslide, so we’re gonna try and lead the tinnies away from your location and get word out to the rest of the battalion. We need you to stay right where you are, so we can find you when it’s safe. Do you understand?”

“Yeah,” Luke said. “Stay hidden ‘til the bad guys are gone, only move if I really can’t stay.” Aunt Beru had taught him that when he was really little. He’d only had to use those lessons twice before – once when he’d been scrap hunting with Biggs and a pack of offworld slavers showed up, and the second time was when– when–

He’d done this before, was the point. His _ori’vod_ didn’t need to worry.

“You got it _vod’ika_. Stay safe.”

-

This, _this_ , was why he hated missions with Skywalker. Cody had clearly been too hasty with labelling the mysterious corpse-and-child appearance as the major fuck-up for this assignment, because this was meant to be a fairly simple battle and it had gone to shit faster than Fox could chug a cup of caf.

What was really baffling was _how_ exactly the droids had managed to circle around – that much troop movement should surely have been noticed, and General Kenobi should have passed them on the way in. So, how the hell had they been missed? Clankers weren’t exactly stealthy.

The magic droid army now trapping them in the Separatists’ own base wasn’t even the only problem Cody had to deal with, _oh no._ Communications with the camp and _The Resolute_ were jammed, General Kenobi had three separate blaster wounds, the Seppies had figured out lightsabre proofing, _and_ General Skywalker was out of action for the foreseeable.

Cody needed a pay rise. Or pay at all, even.

“-ody, Cody, I’m fine! My injuries are all just flesh wounds, it really isn’t urgent,” Obi-Wan insisted. Cody was currently dragging his loudly complaining general away from his position pacing outside of the tent set up for Skywalker, in order to get the man’s own wounds seen to. His general still tried to weasel his way out of medical treatment at every opportunity, despite knowing it was a foolish endeavour that Cody was never going to let him get away with. “Please, Commander, it can easily wait until after the men have been seen. I can augment with the force for at least another day– ”

“With all due respect, sir, that’s banthashit,” Cody snapped. “You look like you’re ready to collapse, and with General Skywalker out of commission we need you at your best.”

His general winced slightly at the mention of his apprentice, and sagged in defeat. “The highest risk patients have been stabilised?”

“Mostly,” Cody said. He avoided mentioning that Skywalker was in the most perilous position by far. His general was already stressed enough as it was. There was no need to scare him more when they were already doing everything they could.

Obi-Wan huffed quietly. “Alright. Fine. But, Cody,” he hesitated for a second, eyes uncertain. “You will tell me if there’s any change, won’t you?”

Cody softened. Though he’d gut anyone who tried to prove it, he had a soft spot a mile wide when it came to his general, and things like this made him want to bundle the man up in a blanket and hide him from the whole galaxy.

Unfortunately, if he did that he’d have to deal with Skywalker on an even more regular basis, and probably Vos too. Maybe even _Ohnaka_. Why did Obi-Wan have to associate with such disastrous people? He was going to drive Cody to an early grave. Or, rather, _earlier_. It was massively inconsiderate.

It turned out there was only a single field medic on call who wasn’t already up to their eyeballs in things to do, and there was a reason they were the one free. Their name was Bastard, and they lived up to it with an alarming amount of glee, to the point where they could wrangle a _vod_ into treatment in half the average time without having to say a word out loud. They were the perfect person to deal with a reluctant Obi-Wan, and Cody made a mental note to mark them down for an immediate promotion. Bastard would hate him for it, but the more terrifyingly competent medics the 212th had in charge, the better.

Bastard was halfway through treating Obi-Wan’s first blaster wound when the group was interrupted by a nervous-looking shiny. Bastard glared at him, and the poor kid actually took a step back in fear, eyes flicking between the medic and his commander like he couldn’t decide who was the bigger threat. Cody left the shiny to flounder for a few moments, before giving into Obi-Wan’s beseeching gaze and taking pity on the kid.

“Report, trooper,” he barked, and the shiny’s eyes finally settled on Cody and he snapped a sharp salute.

“Sir! Captain Gregor believes he has found the cause of General Skywalker’s condition,” he said. “The Seppies have been mining cortosis here – General Skywalker took a lungful of the dust.”

Behind him, Obi-Wan sucked in a sharp breath. “Cor–cortosis? You’re sure?” he said, struggling to push himself up to sitting. Bastard growled at him, shoving him back down and making Obi-Wan groan.

“If you try and move again, I’m going to tie you to this bed,” the medic hissed. Cody eyed him warily, his expression matching Obi-Wan’s. The shiny looked like he might cry, and that only doubled when Bastard rounded on him. “Now, are you done here, or are you going to continue harassing my patient?”

The shiny retreated, stuttering out a “Yessir, um, no sir,” as Bastard continued to glare. Cody snickered quietly, and then immediately regretted it as the medic rounded on him.

“And you. Get out of my med-tent. _Sir,_ ” they sneered. Cody held his hands up in surrender, and hastily followed the shiny’s example in retreat.

He ducked out of the tent, and cornered Gregor for a full report. Looked like they needed to start some serious research into cortosis.

Oh, the joy.

-

It was cold, this far underground.

He’d been cold before, the nights on Tatooine would go below freezing all the time, but this was a different sort of cold, a creeping sort of cold that seeped into his bones where he was curled into himself against the tunnel wall. And there was something else, a cold that leaked into his mind and ached against his soul.

He shivered.

There was something else down here, in the dark.

-

Ugh.

Just. Ugh. She didn’t think there were actual words to adequately express the levels of her disgust.

She’d barely been conscious in these accursed tunnels for ten minutes, and yet they had already reached the fourth spot on her list of least favourite places to be, right below the Coruscant underbelly. They were simply… _abhorrent_. That was a good word for it. _Abhorrent._

They seemed to only have the occasional turn-off, none of which she’d taken, and yet she could’ve sworn she’d been past this section of tunnel before. The whole place was a damned maze. She understood, now, why they’d lost so many droids when mapping out the ones under the base, for the ambush. At least those ones had multiple exits – she hadn’t seen hide nor hair of the sky since she’d fallen.

The Force was also being maddeningly unhelpful. It was one of the reasons she hadn’t spotted the bombs until it had been too late, and she got the distinct impression it was pleased with this turn of events.

She scowled at it. she wasn’t some _toy_ for it to puppet about at will. She was an acolyte of the _Sith_ , it should bend to her will, not the other way around.

_Fuck._

Dooku was going to be pissed. She was going to be in such deep shit for this.

And it wasn’t even her _fault_. She shouldn’t be blamed for the fact that the Republic clones were far more competent than battle droids, far more competent than Dooku gave them credit for. Though she’d never admit it out loud, the clones were _good_ at what they did, even if their actual sentience could be debated.

Dooku wouldn’t care. He’d just see her failure, and punish her accordingly.

If she ever got out of these _wretched tunnels_ that was.

_Ugh._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ooooo
> 
> can anyone guess what's gonna happen next chapter, that was supposed to happen this chapter?
> 
> this fic is by far the longest thing ive ever written and i love it 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed, and may the Force be with you!


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